Admiration

from flickr user The Real Estreya
Alba admiring Twig the Fairy's gorgeous feathered gauntlets.

The Minnesota Renaissance Festival wraps up this weekend with a Friday-Sunday run.

The Boat house at Cleary Lake

from flickr user DeepakPrakash
Taken at Cleary Lake in the southwest metro suburb of Prior Lake, this long exposure photo was taken during Sunday's inland hurricane shows just how important a quality tripod can be. Reminds me of my need of a new one.

Something In The Mist

from flickr user boscbo
Cemeteries always make for some interesting photos - especially the older ones. They are full of unique elements just aching to tell a story to anyone willing to take the time to appreciate their history. This one, on a hillside in the Stillwater area, is even more mysterious with its cloak of fog.

Clouds on the Water

from flickr user DigitalObserver
The reflection on the water in this dockside photo actually made me feel dizzy. That, to me, is a sign of a fantastic photo. It literally turns your world upside down.

The Chapel On The Hill

from flickr user glness
Near Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Lutsen Mountains

from flickr user Lutsen & Tofte, Minnesota: America's North Coast
We'll be skiing down the Glade run before we know it!

Cascade River

from flickr user AjRagno
Notice the small patch of blue in the water - a reflection of the sky and clouds from above.

Pirate at the Renaissance Festival

from flickr user The Real Estreya
The photographer says: I dressed as a pirate to visit the Renaissance Festival today [Saturday] in honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day. I use this box to hold my special mementos (like hair cuttings, special photos, crystals, etc.), so it really is a Treasure Chest to me.

Lakota Sioux Mankato pow-wow

from flickr user chelsea morning
A stunning photo from a native American pow-wow that took place at Mankato's Land of Memories campground last weekend

Is it an outhouse?

from flickr user Zach Heller Photography
This adandoned structure seems to fit right in with the early-autumn setting on a patch of Minnesota prairie.

Gophers cheerleaders

from flickr user purplejoyjoy
Even the cheerleaders seem better after the move of the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team to their new TCF Bank Field outdoor stadium.

Soo Line 2719 Steams from Duluth to Two Harbors, MN

from flickr user pmarkham
Soo Line 2719 was built in May, 1923 in Schenectady, New York. It was one of six H-23 Pacific Class 4-6-2 steam locomotives built for the Soo Line. It operated until the mid-1950s when it was overhauled and put into storage. It was brought out of retirement to haul the last steam trains on Soo Line's tracks in 1959.

It currently lives at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and used as the motive power for the North Shore Scenic Railroad each Fall.

Hazy Sunset

from flickr user PXLated
Some Haze, Some Dust, a Sunset

Winding road

from flickr user theDancingLlama
Fall foilage adorns a railroad bridge near Lewiston, MN

Wood nymph

from flickr user mourning
It wouldn't be late-summer/early-autumn without mentioning the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. And I wouldn't mention the Ren Fest here without featuring a photo of Twig the Fairy. She's probably the most prolific performer at the festival which runs through the first weekend of October south of Shakopee on U.S. Highway 169.

Old Car Along Highway 59

from flickr user glness
I think the sun set on this particular vehicle a long time ago.

Wavering Wheat

from flickr user AjRagno
Alvarado, MN

This truly is a middle of nowhere place, with vast farm fields and an absolute silence. The Red River and North Dakota are just a few miles west of this spot, beyond those trees on the horizon.

It had been cloudy all day, but the clouds began to break up about an hour before sunset so I stayed to see what would happen. Literally seconds before I took this picture, as I was set up and metering, a farmer and his young son drove up in a pickup. They said, "Hi," and just sort of smiled curiously as they eyed my goofy looking, over-sized camera on the tripod, then asked if I had seen an Elk in this field. He told me his neighbor, who owns the field and also drives a Jeep, had sent him a text saying he'd seen an Elk, so he and his son had come out to look for it. We talked for a few minutes, then he and his son drove off to continue looking for the Elk and I spent the next hour taking pictures as the sun went down and the colors changed. I never did see the Elk...

Children of the corn

from flickr user -Chad Johnson
A very distinctive silhouette that is a Minnesota as the giant ball of twine in Darwin. Get out and try a photo like this for yourself before harvest begins in a few weeks.

Skyline from 46th St.

from flickr user MSPdude
Minneapolis Skyline from the rebuilt 46th St. bridge over I-35W. The Crosstown Commons reconstruction is in full swing below, with work for bus-only access to an in-line BRT station beginning.

Trains from Washington Ave.

from flickr user MSPdude
The soon-to-be-running Northstar Commuter Rail train sits on the left hand side of this photo along side freight trains it shares real estate with in this area near Washington Ave. in Minneapolis.

TCF Bank Stadium

from flickr user Gopher Sports Properties
A newly-built TCF Bank Stadium played host to its first Minnesota Gophers football game as they took on the Air Force Academy on Saturday, September 12.

Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge

from flickr user Jim Frazier
One of the most photographed landmarks in Minnesota, the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge, sits shrouded in early morning fog as a sailboat glides across the lake.

Blue Earth, Minnesota (USA), house 1937

from flickr user edition of one
According to a local historian, this house was built by a Blue Earth banker as a wedding present for his daughter.

This photo proves two things: modern architecture existed long before I thought it did even in small-town Minnesota and photos are timeless. Take more of them.

Jason DeRusha Day Will Happen

from flickr user Jason DeRusha
Now all the world finally knows what it takes to get your own official "day" as proclaimed by a big city mayor. Jason DeRusha's push for his own day, as started earlier this year, wasn't in vain ater all. Now I just need to make sure that my baby grows up to be a Twins fan and volunteer at a YMCA. Monday, September 21, 2009 is officially Jaon DeRusha day in Minneapolis. I think a parade is in order - or at least a cupcake.

St. Paul's Cathedral

from flickr user jennefer elise
Plain and simple, this is the St. Paul's Cathedral at night. Words could never do justice to a photo this beautiful.

Alien Cloud

from flickr user glness
An angry alien cloud appears ready to devour a farmstead. Photo taken in the Red River Valley near Moorhead, Minnesota.

Holding on to their giant bananas

from flickr user erlin1
Sure, the Minnesota State Fair's final day was exactly one week ago but I can't pass on such a classic photo as this one showing a couple who are the proud owners of two bananas which they probably paid $180 for at the midway playing nearly impossible games.

Favre has too much time

from flickr user BGSU86
The game didn't happen in Minnesota but yesterday's Minnesota Vikings game (versus the Cleveland Browns) marked a turning point to many in the hopes of the Vikings with the aged Brett Favre at the helm of the team. The Vikes did pull off a victory but I'll wait to make a season record prediction until mid-October.

"If in barbed wire...

from flickr user k.landerholm
...things can bloom, why couldn't I?"

It seems waaaay too early for the leaves to be turning here in Minnesota but with the relatively dry summer and continued dry weather, the colors will likely come a bit early this year.

Stillwater Bridge

from flickr user zman z28
A very nicely captured close angle of the famous Stillwater, Minnesota lift bridge.

Another day....

from flickr user Darin...
A relatively small ship sails past a lighthouse on Lake Superior in Duluth as the sun rises on northern Minnesota.

Nocturne

from flickr user orangedot777
Cannon River, Northfield.

Panorama of the Hennepin Ave Bridge

from flickr user Broken Sparrow
Seen from Central Ave Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Crop Art

from flickr user skovy
The exhibits are a huge part of the Minnesota State Fair and I'll definitely be checking out the seed art exhibits. This one, of a Person Nut Goodie wrapper, is perfect because it's not just uniquely Minnesotan, it's also a Minnesota product.

Fog on the Tracks

from flickr user k.landerholm
I've seen the amazing fog over the Minnesot River every morning for at least the past week and wished I had my camera along. This photo captures the weather as of late fabulously in Minnesota.

Leinie's Lodge chairs

from flickr user donosborn
One of the Minnesota State Fair's free entertainment venues - the Leinie's Lodge. It's also a great place to grab a seven dollar beer... but at least it's a tasty beer.

Trainnnnn....

from flickr user Sri Dhanush
From the stenciled type on the tanker cars, each one holds 30,700 gallons. That's ALOT of oil on the move.

In Morning Light

from flickr user DigitalObserver
I don't usually do much photography in the early morning hours but such a cool photo like this makes me reconsider my approach.

Minnesota State Fair 2009

from flickr user onastick
The photographer says: A girl who was spending all 12 days at the fair and was relaxing with her cow. It made for a great photo op. I am glad she let me take her picture.

Anoka County Round Barn

from flickr user eleatherberry
The barn survived the advance of suburban development and is surrounded by that development. Its survival rest in the fact that it was put to a non aagricultural use--- an antique and gift shop.

Los Angeles fires

from LATimes.com
If you haven't heard, Los Angeles is literally burning. (And while this isn't about Minnesota, this is my blog and I have creative license to deviate from Minnesota on accasion.) The LA Times has some amazing photos from the front lines of the huge fire burning to the north of downtown Los Angeles in the hills above the city.

The photographer says: Los Angeles firefighter Thomas Rindge takes a break from battling the Station fire in La Crescenta Monday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

See more photos here.